24 Nov - Decent Frost And The Covers Go On

Clear skies last night and a change in the weather meant a decent frost this morning. It's been pretty mild so a white frost across the grass comes almost as a novelty. Despite the temperature hovering at one degree for an hour or so, the hens couldn't wait to have a scratch around outside.

Not much to do on the plot at the moment if I'm honest. I'm taking leeks and parsnips plus the odd handful of Brussels sprouts. I haven't staked the sprout plants yet but I'll do that before the windy weather arrives. I have taken quite a few leaves off the sprouts this week, hopefully this will help the sprouts develop - the majority were yellow leaves anyway and they end up littering the ground.

As it was such a lovely day I thought it might be a good time to pull my covers over most of the plot. I tried to use my tiller a few days a go but it was so wet the mud just bunged up the tines. With this in mind I thought that I'd get the covers on so the ground wouldn't be too sodden in the Spring. I'm hoping that we don't have the storms we had last year as it was basically impossible to keep the sheets anchored in place.

That's it for now, bye.

10 Nov - First Frost & Gladioli Corms

I noticed the first frost of the Autumn yesterday on the plot. The weather has been very mild and wet but it seems that the sky cleared of its rain-bearing cloud just long enough for the temperatures to drop to 2C according to the thermometer. The frost was light on the grass and brassicas, nevertheless there were small shards of ice on the black polythene paths.

The hens didn't seem to notice the powdery hoar frost and clucked impatiently, like mildly scolding primary school teachers, to be let out of their coop. After acquiescing to their nagging I took a moment to take a few pictures in the early morning light. I was somewhat amazed to see a few strawberries still flowering and a couple of yellow raspberries' 'All Gold', still nodding on their canes.

Apart from visiting my hens at dawn and dusk, I haven't done too much on the plot. This is a bit of a problem as I have to write this month's piece for the local newspaper,  quite difficult when the plot has basically gone into hibernation. Luckily I don't suffer from writers block and I can waffle about anything (as you can see from this blog).

Still, I have pulled up a few gladioli corms this week. I like to plant a few in the Spring as they are excellent for cut flowers for the house in the Summer but the corms have to come up before the first real frosts or the cold will kill them. It's just a matter of digging up the corms, cutting the stems off and storing them in a dark, frost free place until they can be replanted in April. There are always loads of little cormlets, most can be discarded though the larger ones can be kept for replanting. (Below - gladioli corms).

See you next time.